“Like a lot of people with mental illness, I spend a lot of time fronting. It’s really important to me to not appear crazy, to fit in, to seem normal, to do the things “normal people” do, to blend in. As a defense mechanism, fronting makes a lot of sense, and you hone that mechanism after years of being crazy. Fronting is what allows you to hold down a job and maintain relationships with people, it’s the thing that sometimes keeps you from falling apart. It’s the thing that allows you to have a burst of tears in the shower or behind the front seat of your car and then coolly collect yourself and stroll into a social engagement… We are rewarded for hiding ourselves. We become the poster children for “productive” mentally ill people, because we are so organized and together. The fact that we can function, at great cost to ourselves, is used to beat up the people who cannot function. Because unlike the people who cannot front, or who fronted too hard and fell off the cliff, we are able to “keep it together,” whatever it takes.” CrazyMental IllnessStigmaEmotional PainFitting InDefense MechanismHiding FeelingsMental Illness StigmaPsychological DefenseFaking NormalPretending To Be OkFaking WellPutting On A Brave FaceKeeping It Together Author:S.E. Smith
“Remember - when you came back from the states thirty years ago, and you had caught on to the importance of putting up a good front, and keeping it up at all costs. Yes, and you make a bundle of those wrapping papers of yours! And now you yourself are nothing but wrapping paper. With nothing inside.” EmptynessPretending It S OkayPutting Up WallsPretending To Be OkPutting Up A Smiley Face Book:Au-delà de cette limite votre ticket n'est plus valable Source: Au-delà de cette limite votre ticket n'est plus valable
“There’s no such thing as normal. There is no definition of normal. Normal is subjective. You can’t—and shouldn’t—force yourself to want something ‘normal’ and stop wanting what you truly want. It’s a sure way to make your life miserable.” NormalMental HealthInsaneSanityAbnormalWanting SomethingPretending To Be Ok Book:Straight Boy Source: Straight Boy